Aesop's Fables

The Salt Merchant And His Ass

A Peddler drove his Ass to the seashore to buy salt. His road home
lay across a stream into which his Ass, making a false step, fell
by accident and rose up again with his load considerably lighter,
as the water melted the sack. The Peddler retraced his steps and refilled
his panniers with a larger quantity of salt than before. When he came
again to the stream, the Ass fell down on purpose in the same spot,
and, regaining his feet with the weight of his load much diminished,
brayed triumphantly as if he had obtained what he desired. The Peddler
saw through his trick and drove him for the third time to the coast,
where he bought a cargo of sponges instead of salt. The Ass, again
playing the fool, fell down on purpose when he reached the stream,
but the sponges became swollen with water, greatly increasing his
load. And thus his trick recoiled on him, for he now carried on his
back a double burden.

Buy a book on Aesop's FablesAesop's Fables (Oxford World's Classics)This new translation is the first to represent all the main fable collections
in ancient Latin and Greek, arranged according to the fables' contents and themes. It includes 600 fables, many of which come from sources never before
translated into English.

Buy a book on Aesop's FablesAesop's FablesKindergarten-Grade 4-A visually appealing selection of 61 fables that mixes the well known ("The Fox and
the Grapes," "The Tortoise and the Hare") with some that have been nearly forgotten ("The Mermaid and the Woodcutter"). In tone and format, this
book is reminiscent of early 20th-century Aesop collections for children.